The Virtual Memorial

“As long as humankind exists and we haven’t suffered through some massive collapse of civilization (e.g. zombie apocalypse), then b-emortal.com will be active,” b-emortal assured would-be customers. As it turns out, the final judgment on b-emortal was rendered with considerably less drama. This postmortem messaging service, bootstrapped by a $15,000 indiegogo campaign, generated some media buzz but never got off the ground. In fact, this spreadsheet of 90 similar services shows that perhaps 1/4 have likewise flatlined.

What’s the difference between an online obituary and a virtual memorial?

Any remaining distinction between online obituaries and virtual memorials is quickly fading, though, as even the simplest online obituaries continue to integrate more multimedia features and options. Nearly all online obituary sites now offer—at the very least—social media sharing, a guest book, and optional video uploads. Click the tabs below for more about the elements that make up a digital memorial.